US fines Lufthansa $4 million for treatment of Orthodox Jewish passengers on a 2022 flight
The United States has fined German airline Lufthansa $4 million for its treatment of a group of Jewish passengers who were denied boarding a 2022 flight in Frankfurt after they had flown to Germany from New York
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States fined German airline Lufthansa $4 million for its treatment of a group of Jewish passengers who were denied boarding a 2022 flight in Frankfurt after they had flown to Germany from New York.
The U.S. Transportation Department said Tuesday that the fine is the largest the agency has issued against an airline for civil-rights violations, although Lufthansa was given credit for $2 million for compensation it gave the passengers, cutting the fine in half.
The department said most of the 128 passengers who were denied boarding “wore distinctive garb typically worn by Orthodox Jewish men." Although many did not know each other and were not traveling together, they told investigators that Lufthansa treated them as if they were a group and denied boarding to all over alleged misbehavior by a few passengers.
They were among 131 passengers who were flying from New York through Frankfurt to Budapest to attend an annual memorial event to honor an Orthodox rabbi.
